Colour sensors and measurement systems for surface finishing applications

Surface finishing encompasses a wide variety of processes such as deburring, coating, polishing and texturing. The purpose is to modify a surface to improve specific properties such as corrosion resistance, durability, adhesion or appearance. To ensure high quality standards, measurement of colour is an invaluable technique in surface finishing.

Micro-Epsilon offers a range of colour sensors and measurement systems for use in surface finishing applications - from sensors that recognise and distinguish colours, to systems that measure the colour of metallic components and coated flat glass, helping to ensure the quality and consistency of the final product. Here are some application examples:

Colour measurement of zinc-coated strip

Steel or aluminium strip material is used to produce punched, bent and deep-drawn components. The steel or aluminium is coated with zinc for refinement purposes, to enhance the appearance and to provide resistance. The zinc is deposited onto the cleaned strip from an electrolyte solution by applying a high electrical current. As well as receiving corrosion- and wear-resistant protection, the strip material also has a defined colour. Reliable testing of this colouring is necessary in order to ensure consistent product quality.

In order to fulfil the high requirements for precision and speed, the colorCONTROL ACS7000 colour measuring system from Micro-Epsilon is used, which recognises colour shades to an accuracy of deltaE xtagstartz 0.08. Manual, visual inspection is not possible in this area, as a trained human eye can only recognise colour distances up to a maximum of deltaE 0.5.